Catholicism in Contemporary Australia and the Emergence of New Sectarian Alignments

Catholic theologian Matthew Tan joins Jonathan for a conversation about the contemporary face of Catholicism in Australia. They explore the breadth and depth of diversity in Australian Catholicism, its impact on Australian society, its relationship to Protestantism, popular perceptions and misperceptions about the denomination and new inter- and intra-ecclesial sectarian alignments in Australian Christianity generated by the influence of politics.

Dr Matthew Tan is Dean of Studies at Vianney College, Wagga Wagga, a Campus of the Catholic Institute of Sydney. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, and blogs at Awkward Asian Theologian.

The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is Assistant Director of the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society at Charles Sturt University, and author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.